5*Review: It Started at Sunset Cottage – Bella Osborne

Kate Marshall is slowly getting her life back on track after losing her fiancé. As an author she has been able to hide herself away from the world and its expectations – but now one of her books has been optioned for a film and Hollywood suddenly comes knocking on her door!

When Kate is given the opportunity to stay at a beautiful country retreat and concentrate on the screenplay, it’s an offer she can’t refuse. Encouraged by her best friend, sharp-tongued single mum Sarah, Kate sees it’s finally time to stop letting life pass her by.

Looking for confidence and inspiration in the idyllic Cotswolds countryside, the last thing Kate expects is for Timothy Calder, A-list actor and leading man in the movie adaptation of her book, to turn up on her doorstep, hoping to lie low after his latest tabloid scandal! But after a rocky start, with Tim narrowly avoiding death by watering can, they find they have a few things in common: a liking for Lady Grey tea, walnut whips and bad ‘knock knock’ jokes. Actually, the bad jokes are just Tim.

As an unlikely friendship begins to blossom, and with circumstances repeatedly throwing them together, is Sunset Cottage where both Kate and Tim’s lives will really start?

If this story was a house, it would have instant ‘curb appeal’. The first scene captivates the reader with its poignancy. The plot twist that follows, allows humour to make one of its many appearances. This is a complex book but it’s easy to read and doesn’t suffer from slow pacing that is common in many women’s fiction stories.

Kate has suffered a terrible loss but she doesn’t wallow in her misfortune and manages to pick up her life again with help of Sarah and Andy her two best friends. Sarah has a story of her own to tell; in many ways it is more tragic than Kate’s. Sarah is a speak first, think later character and this makes her appear brash but she is loyal and courageous and invaluable to the story, for her no nonsense take on life. Andy is the big brother figure, in this interesting triangle of friendship. Recovering from his own personal torment he is the perfect friend without benefits for Kate but maybe something more for Sarah?

The characters are realistic and imaginable and the trials and tribulations they face are easy to relate to. The plot is varied and unpredictable even when Kate meets Tim the celebrity, they don’t follow the expected clichéd path, which is refreshing.

Be prepared for intrigue and action alongside the romance and humour, you’re in for a treat with this captivating story.